Kalgoorlie Calling

I realise we have covered a lot of territory since our last report from Carnarvon, so I think this is going to be long, so go and get a drink.

Sadly we departed the temperate climate of Carnarvon on Friday November 2nd and headed south again into more remote WA desert landscapes towards Shark Bay. We saw lots of feral goats on this section and when stopping for fuel at Billabong roadhouse I was nearly carried away by flies when using the slowest petrol pump in Australia. Next overnight stop was at Denham which is a pleasant seaside town with a beautiful outlook over Shark Bay. The water here is crystal clear and shallow (up to your knees) for about 500 meters out from the beach. It is where the earlier photo of Olly and I on the banana chair in the water was taken. Our neighbor had arranged to purchase some freshly caught and steamed blue swimmer crabs, so I went with him and we had 4 beautiful crabs for tea that night for $20. Delicious. We visited Monkey Mia from here but we didn’t bother with the dolphin feeding which is a bit of a tourist gimmick now. However walking along the beach in the shallows we noticed a sand shark resting in the water so decided to continue our walk on the sand. Shark bay is a very scenic part of the WA coast with huge expanses of clear blue water along a white sandy coastline instead or the usual red colours of WA.

After three days we headed onto Kalbarri, which is heavily promoted as a place not to miss. It is a small village again and very popular with visitors for the week end and holiday periods from Perth. Again beautiful coastal scenery as well as the mouth of the Murchison river. Kalbarri is believed to be where the first white men set foot on Australia being two Dutch mutineers from the Batavia in the 1600s.They were put ashore instead of having their hands cut off and then hung as happened to some of the others. The Kalbarri National Park is nearby which has spectacular gorges and is famous for it’s display of wildflowers in the spring. We did not visit the gorge parts of the Park as I am over National Parks these days. They charge you $10 a head to get in and then make you park a 2 hours hike, in fly blown 35 degree temps, from the scenic view which is usually better in the post card at the visitors centre. They also have this fear that a squirt of urine from a Maltese is going to ruin the health of their precious wallabies and other native animals. Don’t the dingoes take a piss?? Anyway, if they want me to look at the view they need to make it free and run the road right up to the cliff edge so I don’t have to get out of the air conditioned car. But that’s enough of my complaining. The “fritz in Britz” love it. We spent a very relaxing week in Kalbarri having beach walks and good swimming in the river and exploring the coastline. Sue picked the winner of the Melbourne Cup while we were there (No 6), but didn’t have a bet though, oh well !!

Drove on to Geraldton, which was only 130 klm so an easy day. We had the car booked in for a service here so spent week here enjoying the facilities afforded by a bigger city. It is a very nice place with a big busy port and it services a major part of the WA mid west wheat farming, pastoral and mining industries. It has a lot of history including the many shipwrecks and a memorial to the loss of the HMAS Sydney II. While the car was being serviced I spent the day in the museum and art gallery which were both very interesting and entry by donation, much better than national parks any day. Sue and I celebrated our wedding anniversary while in Geraldton with a Devonshire tea at Greenough a National Trust preserved village. No expense spared after 32 years. As Geraldton was the last major town we would be in before Christmas we did our Christmas shopping here and posted boxes all over the world.

We headed down the Brand Hwy to another coastal holiday twin town of Dongara/Port Denison. Again, a nice place to visit with a thriving lobster port where we watched the catch coming in. The season has just started and there were thousands of live lobsters caught each day and packed off to Japan and other places. Some of the boat crews will sell you a lobster for 11 dollars each so long as you have the right money and a bucket to put them in. We thought about it but didn’t bother as we are spending Christmas at Jurien Bay which is another busy lobster port, so we might get some for Christmas lunch. Sue made scones and we stuck a candle in one for Olly’s eight birthday. We also met up with Steve & Jen and Franz & Kay here who are two couples who are following much the same itinerary as us , we first met them at Kunnanurra and Timber Creek and we often meet them along the road. We had an impromptu BBQ and a few reds with them in the caravan park BBQ area, a very nice night. We were at Dongara for Alice & Jack’s wedding and the election, so I walked over the dune to the beach to watch the sunset and wish Jack & Alice well in our thoughts. Didn’t really care much about the election as we didn’t vote, due no longer being enrolled anywhere. It was interesting that Dulwich Hill, our last place of enrollment, was comfortably won by Anthony Albanese (Labor) without our help, and “Aunty Dana” (Liberal) comfortably won Engadine so what’s the point.

We were at Dongara on 25th of November and as we are booked in at Jurien Bay (100 klm south) from the 17th December we decided to head east to fill in the time. So off into the WA outback through Mullewa, Mt Magnet, and Sansdtone to the WA goldfields. We helped out a couple of our indigenous brothers who had a flat tire on their trailer in the middle of nowhere. They were traveling to Meekathara with what looked like all their belongings in a hired trailer. Their jack wouldn’t lift up the trailer so I lent them mine and all was fixed and they continued on very appreciative.

We stayed a night at Leonora and Menzies before arriving at Kalgoorlie. The area is full or history with many abandoned mines and towns. Near Leonora we visited the ghost town of Gwalia where the “Sons of Gwalia” mine was closed in 1963 and at that time a special train was sent from Kalgoorlie to pick up 1300 of the 1500 occupants of the town who left the town and most of their belongings behind. The town has been preserved as it was and you can wander in and out of the houses and see how they lived. It is surprising to see how poor the living conditions were in this part of Australia when I was living in luxury in Hydebrae St, Strathfield. About 20 people still live there now and the mine has reopened as an open cut. Another interesting meeting we had in Leonora caravan park was with a local cross dresser. A man about my size with boobs a nice pink top and black skirt, lots of tattoos and a pleasant conversationalist. I just wonder how he gets on with the miners of Leonora? Just heard on the news that Leonora had the coldest minimum in WA today with a minimum of 3 degrees. The nights are very nice here with the doona being enjoyed but then the days can be anywhere from 25 to 41. But still we have seen even a shower of rain since being in Nowra in June.

From Menzies we drove 50klm to Lake Ballard which is a huge salt mine where an artist has erected 51 cast metal sculptures spread wide across the lake so that you cannot see them all without a two hour walk around the salt flats. We did a short walk around three of them and the whole vista was very impressive. I have included some photos but they don’t do it justice. Olly was not impressed as he was sure it was a beach when we arrived at the lake’s edge and he could see that expanse of water that wasn’t there, as he raced towards it. And of course the temperature was in the high 30s and I didn’t realise that so many flies appreciated art.

We arrived in Kalgoorlie/Boulder 10 days ago now and are enjoying our stay. We have had a shade cloth curtain made to attach to our awning when the annex isn’t up. We have wanted one of these since our travels last year and finally got around to it. That reminds me, there is a town in WA called Tuart and I am looking forward to driving around it so I can say I am getting around Tuart !! Boom Boom !! We have arrived at Kalgoorlie when they are celebrating St Barbara’s festival with the lighting of the Christmas Tree, and a Christmas street parade with the biggest floats I have ever seen in the shape of the mining trucks and equipment. The parade was followed by a free concert in the park with Tina Turner and the Rolling Stones no less (maybe not the originals)! St Barbara is the patron saint of miners. We have visited Coolgardie where a film company was doing some filming with the main street blocked off. We watched an actor fall off a chair about 10 times. There was a small dog being filmed walking with a girl past the pub in scene and we considered taking Olly off the lead to see what would happen, but we didn’t see Nicole or Hugh so continued on around the heritage walk of Coolgardie. We also went on a tour of an operating brothel which was interesting. There are plenty of single men in Kalgoorlie if any of our single female readers are interested.

Our friends Steve & Jen arrived two days ago which was a surprise as the last we heard they were on their way to Perth. They did, but then decided to come east. Last night they joined us on a pub crawl around the “Skimpy’ bars of Boulder. Most of the pubs (there are 8 of them in walking distance of the caravan park, you’d love it Kel) have the “Skimpy of the week” advertised along with the counter meals on a black board outside the pub. As expected the “Skimpy” is a barmaid dressed in bra and pants, fish nets etc, who chats up the miners usually during the happy hour if not all day. Even the early openers have them at 6am. We were surprised when the girls at two of the pubs we visited came around with a jug collecting coins by saying “do you want to put something in my jug?” They then proceed to remove the bra and continue serving with a “WA made” sticker covering the nipple. The girls move around the various pubs from week to week and I think they have a real following. It was a fun night out for all of us.

Well we are now getting ready to head off tomorrow now that we have collected our new shade cloth, seen all the tourist attractions of Kalgoorlie Boulder, including the super pit which is amazing, and done a skimpy tour. We plan to travel through Southern Cross and Merriden to Heyden and have a look at wave rock. Then it’s back west through the wheat belt towns to arrive back at the coast on December 17th, where we will spend Christmas. For some time Sue has missed having an oven and recently said she would like one for Christmas. An electrical store was closing down here so she now has an early Christmas present, at half price, and I am enjoying scones and biscuits and am looking forward to lasagna and garlic bread for tea tonight.

This will be the first Christmas ever without any family for both Sue and I so Sue is starting to feel melancholy already. We will miss you all on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but wish you all the best for a very Happy Christmas with lots of love from Sue, Chris & Olly.